Anesth Pain Med.  2012 Jan;7(1):12-15.

Botulinum toxin type A therapy in cluster headache: A case report

• Kwon SY
• Moon DE
• Kim YH
• Lee SH
• Ryu KH

Abstract

Cluster headache is a severe pain syndrome with a piercing, tearing sensation, nicknamed the suicide headache. It is associated with an autonomic symptom. No effective therapy is available in approximately 4-15% of patients with cluster headache. One of the treatment methods is occipital nerve block. It is conventionally performed with local anaesthetics, and in this case we used the botulinum toxin type A. Botulinum toxin is an effective therapeutic agent for various disorders, and has recently been discovered to be an effective treatment for chronic migraine. The efficacy of Botulinum toxin in headache invokes possible neurogenic effects that may reduce or even prevent sensitization of both the peripheral and central nervous system. Therefore, we describe a case of a 45-year-old male with a cluster headache that could not be controlled with conventional therapy. We performed botulium toxin type A therapy. Cluster headache VAS showed improvement after occipital nerve block using the botulinum toxin A.

Keyword

Botulinum toxin type A; Cluster headache; Occipi tal nerve block

MeSH Terms

Botulinum Toxins
Botulinum Toxins, Type A
Central Nervous System
Cluster Headache
Headache
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Migraine Disorders
Nerve Block
Sensation
Suicide
Botulinum Toxins
Botulinum Toxins, Type A